The Garden in the Summer: Botanical Studies in Oil

 

Solo Exhibit

December 5, 2016 - January 7, 2017

in the
Romano Gallery
Armstrong-Hipkins Center for the Arts
Blair Academy
Blairstown, New Jersey

 

All work is for sale unless otherwise noted. Please contact James Gloria to purchase.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

I have always been intrigued by the traditional forms, techniques, and craft of art making. This was partly a search for less expensive but durable materials, but was also a reaction to the mundane. Early in my education, I was inspired by an influential drawing instructor who encouraged resistance to ready-made tools and materials. He pointed out that what one uses to make art must affect the outcome. Consistent pieces of Conté, ready-made, standard-sized canvas, and 18x24 paper are all limits on expression.

Art communities often prioritize originality. By asking: who is served by standardization?, one questions the Industrial Revolution assumptions of progress. Rather than suffering from the estrangement that comes from losing control over the elements of one's own process, engagement with methods provides meaning to our work.

By developing a familiarity with the component parts of the materials and techniques of painting, I engage in a dialogue. Inconsistencies in materials are, in fact, opportunities to explore the dynamics and properties of raw materials. Expectations are modified, new paths are opened, and new ideas are stimulated. A focus on the process becomes as meaningful as the product. For me, making art is a way of connecting with the essence of being, by living in the moment of the creative process.

In the summer of 2016, I began a series of paintings in my garden. Working in a familiar medium-oil on linen-I began to alter my approach. I gradually increased the amount of marble dust in my paint to create dimension. This series led me to even broader use of impasto, and no transparent glazing. The resulting paintings are more about surface and immediacy. Afterwards, I could see a consistent through-line in the abstract textural rhythms and the soft shadows of dusk.

Also on display are botanicals completed in other media—watercolor, fresco—show how different materials affect my results. Recent pastels are part of my weekly practice of studying the figure.

Lastly, there are works in Scagliola, a 16th c. technique for marbling plaster. Unlike my other art, they are the result of a slow and laborious process. The materials: plaster, pigment, glue, are simple, but are completely transformed by labor, transcending their elemental simplicity.

 

Botanicals

  
Fresco Quadtych: Flowers and Faces "Flowers and Faces, Quadtych"
  1997
  Fresco
  29" x 32"
  $2400
Fresco Wall Decor: Begonias "Begonias"
  1998
  Fresco
  18" diameter
  $750
Oil Painting: Evening Primrose "Evening Primrose"
  2016
  Oil on Linen on Panel
  18” x 24”
  $1300
Oil Painting: Pink Tree Peony "Pink Tree Peony"
  2016
  Oil on Linen on Panel
  12” x 16”
  $575
Oil Painting: Pink Tree Peony II "Pink Tree Peony II"
  2016
  Oil on Linen on Panel
  18” x 24”
  $1300
Oil Painting: Dogwood "Dogwood"
  2016
  Oil on Panel
  10” x 11”
  $330
Oil Painting: Violet Iris "Violet Iris"
  2016
  Oil on Panel
  8” x 10”
  $240
Oil Painting: Blue and Violet Iris "Blue and Violet Iris"
  2016
  Oil on Linen on Panel
  18” x 24”
  $1300
Oil Painting: Iris Buds "Iris Buds"
  2016
  Oil on Panel
  8” x 10”
  $240
Oil Painting: Clematis Jackmanii "Clematis Jackmanii"
  2016
  Oil on Panel
  8” x 10”
  SOLD
Oil Painting: Clematis Jackmanii II "Clematis Jackmanii II"
  2016
  Oil on Panel
  8” x 10”
  SOLD
Watercolor Painting: Poppies "Poppies"
  2005
  Watercolor on Paper
  8” x 10”
  $200
Oil Painting: Poppies "Poppies"
  2016
  Oil on Panel
  16” x 20”
  $960
Oil Painting: Magenta Tree Peony, After "Magenta Tree Peony After"
  2016
  Oil on Panel
  8” x 10”
  SOLD
Oil Painting: Columbine "Columbine"
  2016
  Oil on Linen on Panel
  8” x 18”
  SOLD
Oil Painting: Grandmom's Roses "Grandmom's Roses"
  2016
  Oil on Linen on Panel
  18” x 24”
  $1300
Oil Painting: White Peony "White Peony"
  2016
  Oil on Panel
  8” x 10”
  SOLD
Oil Painting: Mock Orange "Mock Orange"
  2016
  Oil on Panel
  16” x 20”
  $960
Oil Painting: Pears "Pears"
  2010
  Oil on Panel
  16” x 20”
  SOLD
Oil Painting: Magenta Tree Peony "Magenta Tree Peony"
  2010
  Oil on Linen on Panel
  8” x 10”
  $240

Scagliola

  
Scagliola Table: Birds and Rose of Sharon "Birds and Rose of Sharon"
  2005
  Inlaid Scagliola in Wrought Iron Frame
  18” x 32” x 15”
  $2880
Scagliola Table: Compass Rose "Green Scagliola with Compass Rose"
  1997
  Inlaid Scagliola in Wrought Iron Frame
  22” diameter x 24” high
  $1800
Scagliola Sculpture: Two In One "Two In One"
  1997
  Scagliola
  8.5”
  $1200
Scagliola Sculpture: Column "Column"
  1997
  Scagliola
  9” x 48"
  $1800
Yellow Scagliola with Braid Inlay "Yellow Scagliola with Braid Inlay"
  2010
  Scagliola
  12” x 12"
  $600
Scagliola Tile with Roman Bull Inlay "Roman Bull"
  1999
  Scagliola
  15.5” x 15.5"
  $1200
Scagliola Tile with Gothic Inlaid Design "Gothic"
  1999
  Scagliola
  15” x 15"
  $1100
Scagliola Inlay and Frame: "Gothic"
  2015
  Scagliola
  8.5” x 8.5"
  $550
Scagliola Inlay: "Plum"
  2003
  Scagliola
  16” x 16"
  $1000
Scagliola Inlay: "Venetian Sketches"
  2003
  Scagliola
  15” x 15"
  $1500

Figures

  
Watercolor Painting: "Nude"
  2015
  Watercolor on Paper
  14” x 11"
  $300
Ink Drawing: "Figure Study: Cary"
  2015
  Ink on Bristol
  16” x 20"
  $400
Conté Drawing: "Sam"
  2016
  Conté Pastel on Paper
  20” x 13"
  $400